Bacterial Infection During Pregnancy Increases Autism Risk
Pregnant women who experience a bacterial infection while in a hospital may be at
higher risk for having a child with autism, according to a new study.
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Maternal Viral Infection May Increase Autism Risk in Fetus
A recent study shows that activating a woman's immune system during pregnancy interferes with the development of neural cells in the brains of her offspring in a way that damages the cells' ability to transmit signals and communicate with other cells.
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What Actually Causes Autism?
Even after decades of research, doctors are not quite sure what causes autism. It seems like certain factors can make women more likely to have a child with autism, but it’s hard to say for sure.
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Parental Age and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder
In this study, both maternal and paternal age were independently associated with autism.
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Experts Recommend 3-Step Diagnostic Process for Autism
A new study of two different kinds of genetic tests identified ASD in a small number of patients, leading the test’s authors to recommend a 3-step diagnostic process when autism is suspected.
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Could Autism's Rise Be Due to Diagnostic Pattern Shifts?
Parents and medical professionals alike are justifiably alarmed at the skyrocketing rise in the disorder, especially since there are no real answers for what actually causes autism.
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Parent Training Improves Behaviors of Autistic Children
A new study identifies a 24-week program that trains parents of autistic children how to handle their disruptive behavior and outbursts with superior results.
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Circumcised Boys May Be At Higher Risk for Autism
Research published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine suggests that circumcised boys are more likely than intact boys to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) before the age of 10.
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Vitamin D Supplementation May Lower Autism Risk
People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have less of the hormones attributed to social behavior: oxytocin, serotonin, and vasopressin. But vitamin D can stimulate the production of these hormones.
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Child Abuse and Autism Risk
A study published in JAMA Psychiatry reports a connection between child abuse and future risk of having children with autism.
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Valproate Linked to Increased Risk of Autism
Valproate is currently prescribed to women in child-bearing yearsfor the treatment of neuropsychological disorders and epilepsy, butaccording to a study published in JAMA's April 24th issue, Valproate may be linked to increased risk of autism.
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Nutrition During Pregnancy Can Affect Child’s Autism Risk
How a particular type of fat consumed during pregnancy can affect a child's autism risk.
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The B Vitamin No Woman Should Be Without
There are eight B vitamins, all of which are essential to human life, but one B vitamin has taken center stage during recent years due to new research revealing how strongly this super-vitamin can affect one's health- most importantly women's health.
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Flu Vaccine Gives Pregnant Women Surprising Benefit
The flu is associated with fever, nausea, and vomiting. Recent studies have linked fever with increased risk of autism, so preventing flu infection is extremely important during pregnancy.
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What are Autism Spectrum Disorders?
Autism is a simple name for a complex array of disorders. Disorders
associated with autism are generally focused on socialization and
communication.
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Psychiatric Disorders Linked to Environmental Stressors During Gestation
A team of researchers based at Yale University seem to be one giant step closer to solving the riddles of when and how some psychiatric disorders start.
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Autism Symptoms Affected by Birth Timing
Researchers at Michigan State University has revealed a connection
between pre-term and post-term delivery and certain autism symptoms.
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Maternity Weight Influences Baby's Risk of Autism
A team of research psychiatrists at the University of Utah recently published the findings of a study comparing a woman's weight before and during pregnancy with the risk of her child being diagnosed in the autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
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Lifetime Autism Price Tag $2 Million Plus
A study puts the lifelong price tag for living with autism at roughly $2.4 million (£1.414 million).
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Autism May be Linked to Jaundice
There is no known, clear-cut cause of Autism, so researchers are constantly looking for some connection between environmental, medical and social aspects of life
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Back to Back Pregnancies May Increase Risk of Autism
When one pregnancy is immediately followed by another within one year of birth, researchers report there could be an increased risk of autism in the second child.
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Fruit Fly Study Reveals Possible Key to Autism
Some of the classic characteristics of the autistic spectrum
disorder (ASD) describe a state of sensory overload - colors are too
bright, light too intense, sounds too vivid, touch too acute, and odors
that overwhelm.
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Family Pet Boosts Autistic Child’s Social Skills
A research scientist at the University of Missouri refers to pets as “social lubricants,” so effective that even autistic children develop improved social skills when there’s a pet in the family.
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Desire To Be Other Gender Higher in Autistic, ADHD Kids
Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were found to be more inclined to wish they were the opposite gender.
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Autistic Brains Never Stop, Stay Busy Even During Seep
A study has resulted in the discovery of what may be the key to understanding the deeply introspective nature of so many people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
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Girls’ Autism Symptoms Usually Subtle, Delaying Diagnosis
A study finds that girls' symptoms of autism are so different than boys’ symptoms that girls are often misdiagnosed or their diagnosis comes much later than most boys’ diagnoses.
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Parents' Ages Influence Children's Risk of Autism
A new study “like no other” indicates parental age as an influence on the child’s risk. This study shows “for the first time that autism risk is associated with disparately aged parents..."
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Discovered: First Gene Strongly Associated with Autism
An international team of researchers has discovered a gene that is more strongly associated with autism than any other to date.
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Autistic Children Often Creatively Advanced
Parents may have already suspected this but a recent British study confirms people with autistic characteristics are often more creatively advanced than their peers.
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Sodium Valproate Linked to Autism Risk
A recent study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery
and Psychiatry found a connection between the drug sodium valproate and
increased risk of neurological disorders, including autism.
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Placenta May Hold Key to Early Autism Diagnosis
Researchers recently published a study that could hold the key to early
diagnosis of autism, giving parents and clinicians time to plan
treatment and provide the best care imaginable for children with autism.
The key is in the placenta.
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Inducing Labor Does Not Induce Autism
Studies in recent years have hinted at a link between using thissynthetic hormone ' oxytocin ' to induce or augment labor and theincidence of autism in the child.
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Neurons Associated with Autism Found in Prefrontal Cortex
Researchers at the University of California found excessive neuron
development in the prefrontal cortex in boys with autism. The neurons
affect the part of the brain responsible for social development.
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Genetic Mutations Linked to Paternal Age
Hollywood stars are known for waiting later in life to start families, but researchers say men who wait longer may be increasing the risk of passing genetic mutations like autism on to offspring.
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Parental Age and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) may be associated with parental age during pregnancy. A Finnish study reports associations between various ASDs and parental age starting in the teenage years.
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Dad’s Biological Clock Just as Important as Mom’s
A major study that compared the psychiatric health and academicachievement of siblings gives strong support to the theory that dad'sbiological clock exists and may be just as important as mom's.
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New Study: Autism Begins in the Womb
The mystery of autism is one step closer to being solved, thanks to a meticulous study conducted by researchers in Washington and California. The team discovered that autism begins in the womb.
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Folic Acid Reduces Risk of Autism Disorder
Observational research shows taking folic acid (folate) supplements for
four weeks prior to pregnancy and continuing for eight weeks after
pregnancy reduces the risk of a child developing an autism disorder.
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Folic Acid Linked to Autism Prevention
If there is one thing that drives researchers it is a medical condition with no definitive cause. Autism is one of those conditions. Though there are some medical ideas about the possible roots of some forms of autism, there has yet to be one study producing a clear, concise and definitive cause of autism.
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Autism Linked to Mom's Immune System
The medical community has long held the belief that there's a link
between a mother's immune system and the likelihood her child will
develop autism but the exact mechanism that triggers the disorder has
been elusive.
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Autism and Glutamate Receptors
Using data on the action of mGlu5 receptors on the cell's surface, pharmaceutical companies developed drugs that would lower the volume of the surface receptors and control autistic behavior.
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Genetic Similarity Between Autism and Schizophrenia
New discoveries of genetic mutations link autism, schizophrenia, certain seizure disorders, and certain intellectual disabilities as stemming from a common origin.
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Customized Technology for Autistic Kids
There’s a very interesting collaboration going on in Kansas. It’s bringing together the best of several worlds for the benefit of kids who are autistic or developmentally challenged in various ways.
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Educational Support for Children of Resolved Autism
A new study reveals some cognitive and social symptoms of autism may linger and require on-going educational support for best long-term outcomes.
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Anti-Anxiety Meds May “Rebalanced” Autistic Brains
A team of Seattle-based scientists found that the administration of certain anti-anxiety drugs seems to rebalance the autistic brain in ways that make impulse control more& effective.
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Parents Pushing for Autism Coverage from Obamacare
Enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) leaves coverage of autism and many other medical issues up to state exchanges to establish the details of coverage if any.
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Oxytocin May Help Children with Autism
A single dose of oxytocin enhances brain activity while children with autism engage in social information, according to results of a recent study performed by researchers from Yale University.
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Dad Creates App to Rate Autistic-Friendly Places
One father of an autistic child knows how valuable the so-called autism community is. He’s expanding the communal value in a free ratings-style app he calls “Autism Village.”
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Antidepressants During Pregnancy Do Not Increase Autism Risk
There does not appear to be a connection between taking antidepressant
medication and the risk of autism, according to a new study that could
not find evidence of an association between the two.
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Smoking During Pregnancy Not Linked to Autism
Tobacco smoke and the chemicals produced have long been linked to problems and conditions with the fetus. The conditions range from low birth weight, prematurity and in some instances birth defects.
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